


five plus two makes seven

by beckandcall (perksofbeingauselesslesbian)



Category: UnDeadwood (Web Series)
Genre: Domestic Fluff, Multi, this is just an excuse to write puppies and them being soft with each other
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-25
Updated: 2020-12-25
Packaged: 2021-03-11 04:47:49
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,647
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28309248
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/perksofbeingauselesslesbian/pseuds/beckandcall
Summary: Clayton brings home some additions to the family, much to the dismay of his partners.
Relationships: theyre all a little bit in love with each other i dont make the rules
Comments: 2
Kudos: 12





	five plus two makes seven

**Author's Note:**

> This one is for you, Alle. Meeting you was the best thing to happen to me in this shitshow of a year.   
> Happy holidays, and fuck yeah internet friends <3

It had only been a few months since this new thing had developed between them all. They were still figuring the intricacies out, of course, but for now they were happy to just exist together in Arabella’s house. The halls that were once silent and stank of cheap hooch were now alive with the happiness they found in each other. 

Aloysius’ low croon could be heard slinking down the hall at any given hour, serenading Miriam as she worked at the stove. Matthew would be muttering his daily prayers quietly as Clayton took apart and cleaned his sidearms. And in the small study, next to the low crackling of the fire, Arabella would be scratching out pages upon pages of notes on her latest alchemical findings, beakers and vials bubbling all around her. It was a place they had built all by themselves. 

Of course the townspeople still gossiped - two single women and three men living together were bound to get anyone talking. But the five found that they didn’t mind so much, as long as it didn’t negatively impact one of their own. There were people who knew the truth of course - Joanie and the girls at the Bella Union had helped them procure some more...intimate protection, much to Miriam’s delight and Matthew’s embarrassment. 

It was a good and contented place that they had carved out for themselves after the raising of the dead that fateful night. 

Which was why Matthew and Arabella were particularly put-out when Clayton arrived home one rainy evening with two whimpering puppies tucked into his soaked duster. Miriam and Aloysius were delighted of course. 

“We cannot have those in the house. You don’t know what they could be carrying.”

“Arabella, darling, relax for a moment. Feel how soft their little ears are.” Miriam was cradling the smaller puppy in a rag and attempting to pat it dry.

Clayton returned from the kitchen with another rag over his shoulder, stripped down to his slightly damp long johns. He handed the cloth to Aloysius, who was sitting with his back against the porch railing, the second puppy in his lap. 

“It was pouring out there, I couldn’t just leave them. They wouldn’t have made it.”

“That’s just the natural course of life-”

“Oh don’t be cruel Arabella, they’re only small. Have some heart.”

Arabella huffed. “Fine. But they aren’t allowed in my study from now on. They might piddle on my notes.”

“Who said we were keeping them for more than the night?”

Four sets of eyes turned to Matthew.

“I’m just saying, we could find some family with youngins that would be delighted to have them.”

Aloysius covered the ears of the puppy in his lap. “Don’t listen to him baby, you’re not going nowhere.”

Clayton just sighed and leaned his hip against Matthew’s. “We’ll decide in the morning, but good luck convincing them otherwise.” He nodded toward Miriam and Fogg who were both cooing at their new charges on the porch.

Arabella floated at the front door, clearly unsure of how to interact with the new puppies. Clayton pulled her into his side and placed a kiss on her hairline. “It’ll be okay, we’ll look after them if you’re not comfortable.”

She nodded against his shoulder and hesitated for a second before going back into the house. Her quick steps down the hall were muffled by the thick and slightly stained rug on the floor. He winced a little as her study door closed behind her. Coming to terms with change took a while for her sometimes, but he didn’t blame her in the slightest.

“We should get them inside by the fire to dry them out a little better so they don’t catch their death from this cold,” Miriam said, slipping past Clayton and Matthew and into the house with Aloysius hot on her heels. 

“We’re done for,” Matthew muttered to Clayton as he turned and held the door open for him.

“Wouldn’t have it any other way,” he answered with a grin. 

Even as they made their way down the hall they could hear Aloysius humming a soft tune while tin bowls clinked from the kitchen. He was sitting on the floor in front of the fire with his ankles crossed, the two pups penned in by his legs. Miriam was chopping up meat and tossing select pieces into two small dishes while the rest went into a big bowl. 

“Can one of you boys help me with these vegetables, please? The other can help Aly.”

Matthew shuffled over to Miriam as he gave Clayton a gentle shove toward Aloysius, “I know you wanna coo over them. They’re pretty darn cute.”

“Are you seeing double there, Reverend? There is only one of Aloysius.”

“Ever the comic, Clayton.”

Clayton ducked in and pecked Matthew on the cheek with a smirk, one hand on his shirt collar. 

“And you love it.”

Matthew just took the cleaver from the block and began to chop the pile of vegetables with a smile on his face. 

“Not that I don’t love seeing you in so few clothes Clay, but you might wanna get dry before you catch a cold too,” Aloysius murmured to the man leaning against his back, head on his shoulder. 

“Maybe hold off on that for a second, we have to give the puppies a bath still. I’ve made something to help with the probable fleas.” Arabella appears from the hall, a vial of faintly yellow liquid in her hands.

“It’s a mixture of various naturally occurring insect repelling plants that don’t smell awful when you put them together,” she scrunches her nose. “On an unrelated note, several of my first drafts will need to be disposed of far away from the house.”

She begins to gesture wildly, her captive audience watching with rapt attention as the mixture attempts to make its escape from the vial with each sweep of her hand. “I think if we’re able to make a warm bath with this in, then scrub the dirt out with some soap, the puppies will be clean and mostly parasite free. Then we can cuddle them without being too worried. So-”

Clayton cuts her off with a kiss. 

“You have a mighty fine mind, Bella,” Matthew says, having paused his chopping to listen to her.

“Always looking out for us when we don’t think all the way,” Aloysius gazes up at her from his place on the floor, a soft smile on his face.

“That is a brilliant idea, darling! Be a peach and swing the pot over the fire to warm the water, would you Clay?”

Clayton leans in again and kisses Arabella softly once, twice, three times before he pulls away. He sets the pot over the fire as Miriam requested, passing his hand over the water inside to check the temperature. 

“Heatin’ in the process.”

Arabella tucks herself into his chest when he stands back up, running her hands along his spine and bumping her head against his collarbone in thanks when he wraps his arms around her.

“Maybe you should go get dry actually, you’re feeling a bit chilly,” she lays her hands flat on his shoulders in a futile attempt to warm him.

“But I’m plenty warm just like this,” Clayton gives her a devilish smirk. The tips of Arabella’s ears go pink.

“If you two wouldn’t mind, we haven’t eaten yet and I’d hate for you to ruin your dinner with dessert, Clayton.” Miriam says without turning away from the dried herbs she’s chopping.

Matthew seems to choke on air and Aloysius just laughs at him. 

“I’ll help you wash the pups while Clay gets dressed, Bella. That water should be somewhat warm now,” Aloysius gets to his feet, a wriggling puppy under each arm.

Arabella turns away from Clayton with a flustered look and the rest of them know her mind is already down the hall in their bedroom. 

Clayton pulls the wash basin down from above the cupboard and leaves it on the table as he walks away, beginning to unbutton his pants. Aloysius whistles after him and wiggles his eyebrows at Arabella.

She smacks his arm lightly and pulls the basin closer, tipping the vial into it. She pours the warm water from the pot over it, filling the room with a fresh tea-tree scent. 

Matthew walks past her and plucks the still warm pot from her hands before she sets it down, commandeering it for dinner preparation. 

Aloysius and Arabella wash the puppies thoroughly, drying them with towels warmed by the fire afterward. They do manage to get splashed several times, but by the end of the process the puppies are starting to flag a little, their movements getting slower and slower. 

“I’ll take care of ‘em, it’s your turn to change. Don’t need you catching a cold either.” Matthew sits himself down, holding his hands out for their new family members.

“And dinner is being served, so no dilly-dallying,” Miriam gives them a knowing look as Aloysius helps Arabella to her feet, hand low on her waist. 

“Yes ma’am.”

Miriam just rolls her eyes at his wink and rinses the wash basin, upending it close to the fire to dry. Clayton is still noticeably absent and she knows the three won’t be out until dinner is starting to go cold. She places the dishes of saved meat trimmings in front of the puppies, and watches them with her hands on her hips while they proceed to lick the plates almost clean. 

Matthew watches them eat with a pensive look on his face.

“There was never a chance that we were giving them away, was there?”

Miriam just laughs and shakes her head. 

If Arabella sits down at the table later in nothing but Clayton's shirt and a pair of Aloysius’ pants, well then that’s definitely not her fault.


End file.
